Quatuor Éclisses Solo
The Guitar Quartet Éclisses opens the programme with a brief musical journey to Spain through some of its most celebrated evocations.
The concert begins with Asturias by Isaac Albéniz, a work so closely associated with the guitar today that one easily forgets it was originally composed for the piano. The programme then turns to excerpts from Carmen by Georges Bizet, perhaps the most famous opera ever written. Curiously, although Bizet sought to recreate the spirit of Spain, he deliberately chose not to include a guitar in the orchestra.
Duration: 20 minutes
Programme
Isaac Albéniz
Asturias
Georges Bizet
Excerpts from Carmen
Arrangement: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Aragonaise
Habanera
Seguidilla
Toreadors
Entr’acte
Gypsy Dance
Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
Emmanuel Chabrier
Habanera and España
With Habanera and España, Emmanuel Chabrier offers his own dazzling vision of Spain: vibrant rhythms, irresistible energy, and richly coloured orchestral writing. These two celebrated works capture both the elegance and exuberance that made Spanish-inspired music so fashionable in nineteenth-century Europe.
Duration: 11 minutes
Quatuor Éclisses & Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
Joaquín Rodrigo
Concierto Andaluz
For four solo guitars and orchestra
Composed by Joaquín Rodrigo in 1967, the Concierto Andaluz for four guitars and orchestra celebrates the colours and vitality of Andalusia. By placing four solo guitars in dialogue with the orchestra, Rodrigo creates a brilliant and festive work that blends virtuosity, elegance, and unmistakably Spanish rhythms.
Duration: 25 minutes
Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
Maurice Ravel
Boléro
With Boléro, Maurice Ravel created one of the most hypnotic works in the orchestral repertoire: a single theme, repeated over an unchanging rhythm, growing little by little into an immense musical crescendo of extraordinary power.
Duration: 16 minutes